Early Childhood Education The Research Evidence

1
Early Childhood Education The Research Evidence

• Deborah Lowe Vandell
• December 11, 2003

2
The Challenge

• Carnegie Report (1991)
• 35 of kindergarten children come to school not
  ready to learn
• Rimm-Kaufman (2003)
• Kindergarten teachers reports 15 have serious
  problems
• 30 have some problems
• 50 lack requisite pre-academic, cognitive,
  language, and social competencies

3
Components of School Readiness

• Cognitive skills memory, attention
• Language skills comprehension, expression
• Pre-academic skills letters, numbers
• Social competence work play well with peers,
  work well with adults
• Emotional well-being

4
Can Early Education Programs Help to Prepare
Children to Succeed at School?
5
A Second Challenge Increases in Maternal
Employment
6
Substantial Numbers of Children are in Child Care
and Early Education Programs

• K class of 98-99 81 had child care
  experience (NCES national survey)
• 84 of the children of employed mothers and 43
  of children of non-employed mothers are in child
  care and education
• WI 83 of children (ages 0-5 years) of employed
  mothers were in child care 34 for 35 hrs or
  more 26 for 15-34 hrs
• WI 25 programs 46 relatives 20 family day
  care 5 in-home

7
Child Care Quality Varies Widely
8
Inequities in Child Care Quality
9
Research Questions

• What are the effects of high quality early
  education programs on cognitive and social
  development?
• What are the effects of early child care of
  varying quality and types on child developmental
  outcomes?

10
Studying Effects of Early Education and Care on
Child Developmental Outcomes

• Experimental studies random assignment model
  programs
• Quasi-experimental studies treatment
  comparison groups large-scale publicly funded
  interventions
• Correlational studies naturally occurring
  variations

11
Evidence from Experimental Studies

• Carolina Abecedarian Project
• 57 treatment 54 control children
• 8 hrs/day, 5 days/wk, 50 wk/yr, 1st 5 yrs
• Center-based, language focus, high-quality model
  program
• Early intervention school intervention

12
Abecedarian Findings

• IQ TgtC at ages 8, 12
• Achievement tests T gt C at ages 8, 15, 21
• Special education TltC at age 15
• Grade retention T lt C at age 15
• School drop out T lt C at age 21
• College attendance T gt C at age 21
• Average age 1st child born T gt C at age 21
• Cost-Benefit Analysis 35,864 cost 136,000
  benefit to society

13
Perry Preschool Project

• 58 treatment (T), 65 control (C) children
• ½ day preschool on week days, plus a weekly
  90-min. home visit
• 8 months/yr for 2 years (entered age 3 or 4)
• High quality program - Childteacher ratio 61
  teachers with masters degrees early childhood
  training early childhood curriculum

14
Perry Preschool Project Findings

• IQ T gt C at ages 5, 7 T C at ages 9, 14
• Achievement tests T gt C at ages 9, 14
• High school GPA T gt C
• Arrests T lt C at age 27
• Employment T gt C at age 19 T C at age 27
• Monthly earnings T gt C at age 27
• Public assistance T lt C at age 27
• Cost-benefit analysis 12,000 costs 108,000
  benefit to society by reducing grade retention,
  special education placement, and increased high
  school graduation rates

15
Evidence from Quasi-Experimental Studies

• Chicago Child-Parent Centers (large scale
  publicly funded)
• 989 treatment 550 comparison students
• Title I early education program in 1985-86
  emphasized skills in language math through
  fairly structured activities
• Degreed teachers high parent involvement

16
Chicago Child-Parent Center Findings

• Reading achievement T gt C at ages 5, 8, 14
• Math achievement T gt C at ages 5, 8, 14
• Grade retention T lt C at age 15
• Proficiency skills tests T gt C at age 14/15
• Special education T lt C at age 18
• Delinquency crime T lt C at age 17
• School dropout Tlt C at age 20
• High school completion T gt C at age 20
• Cost-benefit analysis 7000 costs, 48,000
  benefit to society

17
Evidence from Correlational Studies The NICHD
Study of Early Child Care

• Large sample (n 1364) from 10 sites
• Quality, amount, and type of child care measured
  from birth to kindergarten
• Mothers and fathers observed and interviewed
• Home observations
• Cognitive, language, and social development
  assessed
• Children studied from birth to age 12 years

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Assessments of Child Care Quality

• Observational Record of the Caregiving
  Environment (ORCE) assesses childrens
  experiences with caregivers, peers, and materials
• Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS)
  assesses the social, cognitive, and physical
  environment
• Structural caregiver characteristics

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Higher child care quality predicted

• Higher cognitive skills at 15, 24, 36, and 54
  months and in first grade
• Higher academic skills at 36 and 54 months
• Higher language skills at 36 54 months
• Higher social skills at 15, 24, and 36 months
• Reduced behavior problems
• Effects of child care quality were larger for
  children of low-income families.

20
Caregiver Education
21
ChildStaff Ratio
22
Other Correlational Child Care Studies

• National Academy of Science Committee (2003)
• Cited 23 studies as finding relations between
  process quality and child outcomes
• Cited 14 studies as finding relations between
  structural quality and child outcomes

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What determines the cost of early education?

• Design of the program hours, services, quality
• Who is eligible targeted or universal
• Take up rates
• System costs start-up and infrastructure

24
Estimated Costs-Per-Child for Quality Preschool

• NIEER estimates an annual cost-per-child for an
  academic year program (180 days 6 hr. day) at
  8800.
• Full time child care throughout the year adds
  1370 hours at 8/hr, which yields would add
  10,960 to the cost for full day year round
  preschool
• Current participation rates for 4-yr-old 1/3
  half-day academic yr 1/3 full-day academic year
  1/3 full-day year round.

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Conclusions

• Strong evidence from research that high quality
  early education and child care has positive
  effects on childrens cognitive, academic, and
  social outcomes and that poor quality care has
  negative effects.
• Research and practice have identified the
  components of high quality early education
  programs and strategies to implement these
  components.
• Now time for decisions about what early education
  policies to adopt